Goal is to get people out of cars

Streets designed to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians, safer routes for children going to school, roundabouts and other traffic-calming devices were among the concepts presented at a workshop this week focused on making neighborhoods more walkable.

Nearly 40 engineers, city planners and public health professionals from around the county gathered in San Marcos on Monday to learn about the challenges that pedestrians and bicyclists face in getting around. Advocates outlined a variety of approaches that could be used to encourage more people to get out of their cars and walk or bike.

With gas prices rising again and an obesity epidemic, local officials are paying more attention to how accessible their communities are to alternative forms of transportation. The workshop brought public health professionals together with city planners and engineers – something that doesn't happen often, said Carey Riccitelli, a public health nurse who helped organize the event.

Public health professionals are increasingly recognizing the need to be involved in city planning decisions, Riccitelli said.

“Health does have a role in the built environment,” Riccitelli said. “A lot of research shows that where you live does have an impact on your health.”

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that obesity rates have doubled for adults and tripled for children since the 1980s. One CDC study found that a third of children born in 2000 will develop type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes at some point in their lives if current trends continue.

“When people talk about the obesity epidemic, they're not kidding,” said Paul Zykofsky, director of land use and transportation programs for the nonprofit Local Government Commission, whose mission is “working to build livable communities.”

Zykofsky said the lack of attention to pedestrian safety and convenience in many areas has probably contributed to the rise in obesity rates.

One of the biggest themes of the workshop was “complete” streets – those designed to accommodate not only cars, but bicycles and pedestrians as well.

“Streets are not just for cars,” Zykofsky said.

Local engineers can make life easier for pedestrians by making sidewalks wide enough, putting crosswalks where there's a demand for them and designing intersections in ways that promote pedestrian safety. These changes are good for businesses trying to attract walk-in customers, Zykofsky said.

One approach gaining popularity is the roundabout. Instead of having an intersection with stop signs on four sides, a roundabout is essentially a one-way circle that requires drivers to yield before entering.

A series of roundabouts was completed on La Jolla Boulevard in Bird Rock in 2008. Coronado is testing a roundabout at one of its key intersections, and Oceanside recently approved a plan to install roundabouts on Coast Highway. Encinitas already has several roundabouts.

Another resource that communities can use is the so-called “road diet,” which usually involves reducing a four-lane road to three lanes. This slows traffic, reduces collisions and creates space for bike lanes and on-street parking, Zykofsky said.

The workshop came at a good time for communities that are updating their general plans, the legal blueprints that guide long-term development. San Marcos is working on updating its general plan, and El Cajon is developing a bicycle master plan.

In older cities like Escondido, approaches such as building neighborhoods with fewer disconnected cul-de-sacs are not an option because the neighborhoods have already been built, said Jay Paul, an Escondido associate city planner, who was at the workshop.

An additional challenge is finding community support for projects intended to improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists, Paul said.

“You can't just go stick something in a neighborhood,” Paul said. “The key is community support.”

The workshop was part of a series being held across the state, and a similar workshop was held for East County leaders earlier this spring.